Man gets 51 years in prison for 2006 slaying

LAS CRUCES — Victor Paiz was sentenced to 51 years in prison on Wednesday for shooting and killing a 19-year-old Las Cruces man.

Thanks to a retrial, it was the second time the 28-year-old Paiz was sentenced for the crime.

The sentence, issued by Chief Judge Douglas Driggers of the 3rd Judicial District in Las Cruces, was roughly 10 years less than the maximum Paiz could have received for the seven charges he was convicted of earlier this week.

Prior to the sentence, three of Paiz's family members, including his father and wife, spoke on his behalf and sought leniency. And Paiz himself claimed innocence before Driggers, as the victim's sister and some friends sat in the audience.

"I didn't murder their brother," said Paiz, dressed in an orange- and gray-striped county jail jumpsuit. "I'm not that kind of person to take someone's life."

Meanwhile, Las Crucen Laura Bustillos, sister to the murder victim Jesus "Jesse" Bustillos, told Driggers that her mom died two years ago. The tragedy contributed to her death, she said.

"She went downhill after we lost our brother," she said.

Prosecutors asked for the maximum penalty and that the sentences for multiple counts be consecutive. That's opposed to concurrent, which shortens a person's time in jail.

After the proceeding, District Attorney Amy Orlando said prosecutors are certain Paiz was the ringleader and killer the day Bustillos was shot.

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There was strong evidence in the case, she said, which jurors have examined twice.

"Two different juries —24 people —have found him guilty, no question," she said.

Paiz was convicted in 2008 of slaying Bustillos. But the conviction was overturned by the state Supreme Court and sent back to district court for a retrial.

Diana Alba Soular can be reached at (575) 541-5443; follow her on Twitter @AlbaSoular